Method of and means for fastening springs together



C. DIETRICH May 21, 1935.

METHOD OF AND MEANS FOR FASTENING SPRINGS TOGETHER Filed 13. 1932 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR. Gimme; fl/Erfi/cH.

ATTORNEY.

May 2 1935.

C. DlETRiCE-E METHOD OF AND MEANS FOR FASTENING SPRINGS TOGETHER Filed 3, 1952 .2 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN V EN TOR. (J m/n 6 DIP-77716111 BY 0Z1M A TTORNEY.

Patented May 21, 1935 UNITED STATES;-

METHOD OF AND MEANS FOR FASTENING SPRINGS TOGETHER Charles Dietrich, Cleveland, Ohio, assignor to The Owen Silent Spring Company, Ino., Bridgeport, Conn., a. corporation of Connecticut Application August 13, 1932, Serial No. 628,635

7 Claims. (Cl. 140-3) The present invention relates to improvements in method of and means for fastening springs together. to form spring structures, such, for instance, as those used in bed or chair bottoms or as the resilient cores of mattresses or cushions.

It is common practice in such structures to fasten the springs to tie wire by means of clips, and special machines are provided for forming and attaching the clips because it is an awkward and time consuming task to apply the clips with hand tools and also because the operation of locking the clips securely to the spring elements calls for the exercise of considerable effort.

For these reasons it has been customary to clip the springs together at the factory and then to ship them assembled to mattress or furniture manufacturers. However, the space taken up by assembled spring structures of this character, both in storage and transportation, is objection- .able and adds materially to the cost or the finished product. a

In my Patent No. 1,854,503, issued April 19th, 1932, I describe a method of and means for assembling springs, that calls for no complicated assembling machinery. A special form tie wire is employed which is bent to form off-set loops. In these off-sets adjacent spring sections may be seated and then the off-sets are bent over and clamped upon the spring sections by means of pliers. This permits of shipping the springs and tie wires separately to mattress and furniture manufacturers and the latter may then assemble them in accordance with their sales demands.

One drawback of the system disclosed in my said patent is the fact that hand tools have to be employed to clamp the loop off-sets upon the springs.

The present invention has for an object to provide a novel system of assembly which may be carried out without the use of any hand tools. Thus, the assembling of spring structures is greatly simplified and'expedited and can be per-' formed with lower-priced operatives.

More specifically my invention has for an object to provide a tie wire bent to form hooks thereon which are of such form a' (1 relative disposition that the spring parts to b connected may be introduced therein in a special manner and once in place will not separate therefrom under the most severe service conditions.

- Another object of the invention is to provide a tie wire of the character described above in which the springparts are so connected that there can be no rattling of one part against an- Another object of the invention is to provide a spring connection in which the tie wire will be fastened securely to one of the springs while the other will have a hinged connection therewith.

While it is preferable to employ tie wires to connect the springs my invention 'alsojcontemplates the provision of individual .clips formed with hooks of the same general character as those employed in the tie wire. o

Other objects and advantages of invention will appear in the following description'of a preferred embodiment thereof. and mode-of assembly and thereafter the novelty and-scope of the invention will be pointed out in the' claims.

In the accompanying drawings:' 1 I Figure l is a fragmental plan view of. a spring structure showing a plurality of coil springs connected by means of my improved tiewires;

Fig. 2 is a-view in section takenj on' the line 2-4 of Fig. 1 and enlarged; 1 f

Fig. 3 is a plan view on an enlarged scale showing two springs connected by a tie wire 7 Figs. 4, 5, and 6 are fragmental views in perspective showing successive steps in the attachment of a pair .of springs to a tie wire; and

Fig. 7 is a view in side elevation showing the manner. of attaching the upper end of a spring whose lower end has already been made fast to a spring structure.

My invention is applicable to helical springs of either the closed or the open end coil type. In Fig. 1, I show a part of a mattress structure composed'of open end coil springs [0 with a row i of closed end coil springs II at each end of the structure. The springs are connected by my improved tie wires l2 which extend between adjacent rows of springs. Similar tie wires 13 are provided at each end of the structure to serve as border wires. The tie wires are preferably pro vided both at the top and bottom of the spring structure, as shown in Fig. 2, so that each coil spring will be anchored at each end thereof.

Each tie wire is formed at intervals with a set of three hooks, namely, a central hook l5 and a pair of opposed outer hooks l6 and I1 disposed respectively on opposite sides of the central hook. In Fig. 3 the hooks are shown on an enlarged scale connecting end coils Illa and Ila of a pair of springs l0 and II respectively. It will be observed that each hook is formed of a U-shaped portion of the tie wire which is bent laterally out of alinement with the tie wire and then is bent upward and inward to form a hook. Thus, each hook really comprises two wire elements integrally connected at the nib or free end ofthe hook. The bight ofeach hook comprises two spaced recesses which are indicated at I5a, Ilia, and I'Ia in the hooks I5, I6 and I1 respectively. It will be observed that the hooks I6 and I1 although facing in opposed direction to hook I5, diverge from parallelism therewith, so that the bight of each hook I6 and I! will be disposed substantially tangent to the end coil la. The relative size and disposition of the hooks is such that when the spring coils Ilia and Ila are connected said coils will be in snug tangential engagement with the wire of coil Ila seated firmly in the recesses I50. and that of coil Illa seated firmly in the recesses IBa and "0,.

The nib I5c of hook I5 preferably laps over the adjacent portion of coil Ilia and thereby prevents the latter from working out of engagement with the loops I6 and I1 and at the same time prevents the coil I la from slipping out of engagement with hook I5. The various parts are held snugly in engagement with one another so that there is no rattling of the spring members against the tie wire or against each other. The free end IIlb of the coil Illa is bent off at a decided angle, as shown in Fig. 3, so that it cannot pull lengthwise out of engagement with the hooks I6 and I I. It will be observed that this mode of connection permits the spring section I la to hinge freely in the bight of the hook I5, while the spring section Illa is substantially fixed to the tie wire, and can turn with difficulty in the hooks I6 and I1. While the relative size and disposition of the hooks depends upon the wire gauge and diameter of the coils to be connected an appreciable tolerance is permissible due to the resiliency of the spring and tie wires so that a given tie wire may be used with springs that vary somewhat in gauge or diameter.

The mode of assembling the springs is as follows: An end coil Ila of a spring II is first inserted into the hook I5. Then an end coil Illa of a spring I is applied by first catching its free end under the hook I6 and then under hook I5. This is facilitated by swinging the end coil Illa to a position substantially perpendicular to the plane of the coil I la, as shown in Fig. 4, although the hooks I6 and I can be engaged without swinging the coil upward as shown. However, before the next hook I! can be engaged it will be found essential to swing the coil Ilia to the position shown in Figs. 4 and 5 so that it may be sprung past and under the nib Ilc of hook I'I. Thereafter the end coil Ifla is swung down into the plane of the coil I I a, as shown in Fig. 6. Fig. 3 shows in broken lines the position 'of coil Ilia after it has been swung substantially perpendicular to coil I la and has been hooked under hooks I5 and I6. It will be observed that the coil is given a lateral twist with respect to the wire I2 so that it will clear the nib "0. Then it is flexed downwardly and passed under the nib before it is swung down to normal position. In order to permit of such an assembly of the parts it is essential that the space between the spring wire seated in the bight'of the hook I5 and the adjacent sides I61) and I'll) of the hooks I6 and I], must be somewhat wider than the diameter of the wire of the spring coil Illa. Preferably the sides I6b and Nb are substantialdy parallel to the adjacent sections of the coil Ila.

Fig. 7 shows how the upper end of a spring III is introduce into the hooks of an upper tie wire when the lower end of the spring has already been attached to the spring structure. Since the helical springs are very resilient it is a comparatively simple matter to bend the upper end loop Illa of the spring II] substantially at right angles to the corresponding coil I la of the adjacent spring I I and then the mode of assembly is exactly the same as that described and shown in Figs. 4 to 6 inclusive.

Once the springs have been connected in the manner shown it is impossible to separate them without bending the coil engaged by loops I6 and I! to substantially 90 degrees from its normal position and even then it must be twisted laterally in order to slip it out of engagement with these hooks. Since in service the springs never assume the relative positions shown in Fig. 7 there is no danger of separation of a spring from the connecting tie wire unless such separation is intentionally produced.

When springs with closed end coils are connected to the tie wire the procedure is the same as with open end springs. It is not necessary to have a free end for initial insertion in hook IS. The attachment may be made to any part of a spring coil whether open or closed. Although in the preferred embodiment of my invention, I employ the wires with sets of hooks formed thereon at intervals, obviously individual clips may be formed by omitting the connecting length of wire extending between the sets of hooks.

While I have described a preferred embodiment of my invention, it will be understood that this is to be taken as illustrative and not as limitative and that I reserve the right to make such variations in form, structure, arrangement of parts and mode of assembly as fall within the spirit and scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. A tie for connecting coil springs, comprising a pair of outer open hooks in which a wire section of one of the springs may be seated, and an opposed intermediate open hookin which a wire section of the other of the springs may be seated, the hooks being integrally connected and relatively spaced to hold the two wire sections in snug tangential engagement and the spacing between the intermediate hook and each outer book being greater than the combined thickness of the two wire sections.

2. A tie for connecting coil springs, comprising a pair of outer open hooks in which a wire section of one of the springs may be seated, and an opposed intermediate open hook in which a wire section of the other of the springs may be seated, the hooks being integrally connected and relatively spaced to hold the two wire sections in snug tangential engagement, with the nib of the intermediate hook overlapping both of the wire sections and the spacing between the intermediate hook and each outer hook being greater than the combined thickness of the two wire sections.

3. A tie for connecting coil springs, comprising a pair of outer open hooks in which a wire section of one of the springs may be seated, and an opposed intermediate open hook in which a wire section of the other of the springs may be seated, the hooks being integrally connected and relatively spaced to hold the two wire sections in snug tangential engagement, with the nib of the intermediate hook overlapping both of the wire sections and the spacing between the intermediate hook and each outer hook being greater than the combined thickness of the two wire sections, the bight of each hook being tangential to the wire section seated therein.

4. A tie-for connecting coil springs, comprising a pair of outer hooks in which a wire section of one of the springs may be seated, and an opposed intermediate hook in which a wire section of the other of the springs may be seated, the hooks being integrally connected and relatively spaced to hold the two wire sections in snug tangential engagement with the nib of the intermediate hook overlapping both of the wire sections, the bight of each hook being tangential to the wire section seated therein, and the inner sides of the nibs of the outer hooks being disposed substantially parallel to adiacent portions of the wire section seated in the intermediate hook but separated therefrom by a space exceeding the thickness of the wire section seated in the outer hooks.

5. A spring structure comprising a pair of coil springs and a tie connecting an end coil of one of the springs to an end coil of the other, said tie comprising an open hook in which a wire section of one coil is seated and a pair of opposed open hooks in which a wire section of the other coil is seated, the hooks being relatively spaced to hold the two wire sections in snug tangential engagement with the nib of the first-named or intermediate hook overlapping both of the wire sections, and the spacing between the intermediate hook and each outer hook being greater than the combined thickness of the two wire sections, one of said end coils being open and having the free end thereof bent laterally to prevent the wire from pulling out lengthwise through hooks.

6. The method of attaching a pair of spring coils to a tie member formed with a pair of outer hooks and an opposed intermediate hook so relatively disposed as to hold the two coils, when attached, in snug tangential engagement, which comprises the steps of hooking one of the coils into said intermediate hook, hooking the second coil into one of the outer hooks and under the intermediate hook against the first coil, tilting the second coil into a plane substantially perpendicular to that of the first coil, flexing the tilted coil under the other of the outer hooks and then swinging the tilted coil back into the plane of the first coil.

7. The method of attaching a pair of spring coils to a tie member having a pair of outer hooks and an opposed intermediate hook so relatively disposed as to hold the two coils, when assembled, in snug tangential engagement, which includes the steps of hooking one of the coils into said intermediate hook, tilting the other coil into a plane substantially perpendicular to that of the first-named coil, catching the tilted coil successively under one of the outer hooks, the intermediate hook and the other outer hook, and then swinging the tilted coil into the plane of the first-named coil.

CHARLES DIETRICH. 

